The following related commonly owned United States Patents are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety:
In addition, the following related commonly owned patent applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety:
The present invention relates generally to data collection and processing systems and more particularly to portable data terminals employed as operator manipulated data input and output devices.
Portable data terminals are generally known components of state of the art business systems. The data terminals may be taken to merchandise storage facilities for inventory control or customer service transactions, or may be used in any one of various other commercial applications to serve as data input or output devices for central data processing and control systems.
Central data processing and control systems are most useful when business data are always current and readily available. Prompt data entry and retrieval at the working level through various operator controlled portable data terminals is recognized as a basis for optimizing, among various business activities, inventory control and customer service activities, business forecasting and marketing operations, to name just a few. Portable data terminals are also commonly used by sales persons, distributors, delivery persons, auditors, and the like, where it is advantageous to employ a portable data terminal in a route or otherwise mobile setting. Such applications include sales, distribution, control and inventory of products delivered, and delivery or tracking of products, packages, etc. Portable data terminals have proven useful in increasing the efficiency of such applications by automating the entry and electronic storage of order, sales, delivery, receipt, pricing, inventory control, and other information.
Portable data terminals typically include apparatus to facilitate efficient input and manipulation of data by a user. For example, a portable data terminal may include such apparatus as keypads, touch screens, laser scanners, optical indicia readers, and the like. Preferably, such apparatus allow the data terminal to read and manipulate data recorded in a variety of mediums and in many different formats.
Prior art portable data terminals typically implement trigger switches as a pistol-type switch which is analogous to a handgun in design. Such handgun styled data terminals are usually large, bulky and awkward, the inelegance of which is realized when a pistol styled data terminal is placed upon a flat surface such as a table. Further, as advancement in miniaturization of electronics results in a reduction in the size of portable data terminals, attachment of a pistol grip trigger to the data terminal becomes limited.
Often, portable data terminals are placed in a storage apparatus or docks to recharge their internal batteries and transfer data stored in their memory to a central computer for processing. However, where a data collection terminal must operate for long periods of time, e.g., at remote sites, vehicle mounted docks are needed to recharge the data collection terminal""s batteries in the field. The vehicle dock may also provide for data communication during battery recharge. Examples of such data communication include wireless links such as RF, cellular telephone, etc., whereby inventory, sales, or delivery information may be transmitted prior to the end of an operator""s shift or completion of a route, communication with a portable printer to provide a hard copy such as an invoice or delivery ticket, communication with a fax and/or modem, etc. A vehicle dock should provide positive retention of the data terminal while the vehicle is in motion. As many operators may not be inclined toward painstaking or precise manipulations, a vehicle docking apparatus should be quickly and simply operated.
For these reasons, it would be advantageous to provide an improved portable data collection system having increased functionality and employing a portable data terminal having an integral magnetic stripe reader for reading information magnetically encoded on a magnetic stripe card, such as a credit card or the like. It is further desirable to provide the portable data terminal of such a system with an interchangeable feature pod, wherein the interchangeable feature pod may include a selected data collection or communication device such as, for example, a data communication port, optical indicia reader, laser scanner, or the like to facilitate data entry and communication. Such an interchangeable feature pod should provide a compact, ergonomically efficient actuation means for activating the selected data collection or communication device.
It would also be advantageous to provide a portable data collection system including a port replication apparatus allowing a portable data terminal to be interconnected with multiple peripheral devices via a single interconnection operation. Similarly, it would be desirable to provide a portable data collection system which includes a docking apparatus for docking a portable data collection terminal in a vehicle or the like, wherein the docking apparatus facilitates ease of insertion and removal of the data terminal by a user and provides secure retention of the portable data terminal therein and reliable interconnections between the data terminal and an electrical power source, peripheral devices or data communication apparatus.
The present invention expands the utility of portable data collection systems. The invention recognizes a need for greater versatility in portable data terminals, thereby improving their overall usefulness. Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a novel portable data collection system employing a portable data collection terminal having increased functionality. The portable data terminal includes an integral magnetic stripe reader for reading information magnetically encoded on a magnetic stripe card, such as a credit card or the like. The housing of the portable data terminal may include an aperture for attachment of an interchangeable feature pod. This interchangeable feature pod may include a selected data collection or communication device such as, for example, a data communication port, optical indicia reader or laser scanner to facilitate data entry and communication. The interchangeable feature pod may include a compact, ergonomically efficient actuation means for activating the selected data collection or communication device.
Interconnection of the data terminal to interchangeable feature apparatus such as an electrical power supply, peripheral devices, or data communication apparatus may be accomplished via separate line connection, a port replicator or a vehicle docking apparatus. The port replicator allows the data terminal to be interconnected with multiple peripheral devices via a single interconnection operation. The vehicle docking apparatus allows for docking of the portable data collection terminal in a vehicle or the like, wherein the docking apparatus facilitates ease of insertion and removal of the data terminal by a user and provides secure retention of the portable data terminal therein and reliable interconnections between the data terminal and an electrical power source, peripheral devices or data communication apparatus.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention claimed. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate an embodiment of the invention and together with the general description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.